The Transmissibility of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Commercial Poultry in Industrialised Countries

BACKGROUND: With the increased occurrence of outbreaks of H5N1 worldwide there is concern that the virus could enter commercial poultry farms with severe economic consequences. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We analyse data from four recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry to estimate the farm-to-farm reproductive number for HPAI. The reproductive number is a key measure of the transmissibility of HPAI at the farm level because it can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the control measures. In these outbreaks the mean farm-to-farm reproductive number prior to controls ranged from 1.1 to 2.4, with the maximum farm-based reproductive number in the range 2.2 to 3.2. Enhanced bio-security, movement restrictions and prompt isolation of the infected farms in all four outbreaks substantially reduced the reproductive number, but it remained close to the threshold value 1 necessary to ensure the disease will be eradicated. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results show that depending on the particular situation in which an outbreak of avian influenza occurs, current controls might not be enough to eradicate the disease, and therefore a close monitoring of the outbreak is required. The method we used for estimating the reproductive number is straightforward to implement and can be used in real-time. It therefore can be a useful tool to inform policy decisions

Role of SNX16 in the Dynamics of Tubulo-Cisternal Membrane Domains of Late Endosomes

In this paper, we report that the PX domain-containing protein SNX16, a member of the sorting nexin family, is associated with late endosome membranes. We find that SNX16 is selectively enriched on tubulo-cisternal elements of this membrane system, whose highly dynamic properties and formation depend on intact microtubules. By contrast, SNX16 was not found on vacuolar elements that typically contain LBPA, and thus presumably correspond to multivesicular endosomes. We conclude that SNX16, together with its partner phosphoinositide, define a highly dynamic subset of late endosomal membranes, supporting the notion that late endosomes are organized in distinct morphological and functional regions. Our data also indicate that SNX16 is involved in tubule formation and cholesterol transport as well as trafficking of the tetraspanin CD81, suggesting that the protein plays a role in the regulation of late endosome membrane dynamics

The disruption of proteostasis in neurodegenerative diseases

Cells count on surveillance systems to monitor and protect the cellular proteome which, besides being highly heterogeneous, is constantly being challenged by intrinsic and environmental factors. In this context, the proteostasis network (PN) is essential to achieve a stable and functional proteome. Disruption of the PN is associated with aging and can lead to and/or potentiate the occurrence of many neurodegenerative diseases (ND). This not only emphasizes the importance of the PN in health span and aging but also how its modulation can be a potential target for intervention and treatment of human diseases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Enhanced Longevity by Ibuprofen, Conserved in Multiple Species, Occurs in Yeast through Inhibition of Tryptophan Import

The common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen has been associated with a reduced risk of some age-related pathologies. However, a general pro-longevity role for ibuprofen and its mechanistic basis remains unclear. Here we show that ibuprofen increased the lifespan of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, indicative of conserved eukaryotic longevity effects. Studies in yeast indicate that ibuprofen destabilizes the Tat2p permease and inhibits tryptophan uptake. Loss of Tat2p increased replicative lifespan (RLS), but ibuprofen did not increase RLS when Tat2p was stabilized or in an already long-lived strain background impaired for aromatic amino acid uptake. Concomitant with lifespan extension, ibuprofen moderately reduced cell size at birth, leading to a delay in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Similar changes in cell cycle progression were evident in a large dataset of replicatively long-lived yeast deletion strains. These results point to fundamental cell cycle signatures linked with longevity, implicate aromatic amino acid import in aging and identify a largely safe drug that extends lifespan across different kingdoms of life.The open access fee for this work was funded through the Texas A&M University Open Access to Knowledge (OAK) Fund

Time domain nuclear magnetic resonance as a method to determine and characterize the water-binding capacity of whey protein microparticles

Water-binding capacity (WBC) is commonly measured with a centrifugation method in which a sample is hydrated in excess water and the pellet weight after centrifugation defines the WBC. When a dispersion is being analyzed, here containing whey protein microparticles (MPs), the pellet consists of swollen particles and water between the particles. These two water domains in MP pellets were distinguished using time domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD NMR). This distinction showed that an increase in WBC from 2 to 5.5 g water/g dry matter was mainly due to an increase in water between the MPs. Besides, it was found that TD NMR-measurements could be used to provide accurate values of the amount of water in both water domains in MP pellets. This makes TD NMR therefore a more accurate method to determine the WBC of the whole pellet than weighing the pellet after centrifugation.</p

Time domain nuclear magnetic resonance as a method to determine and characterize the water-binding capacity of whey protein microparticles

Water-binding capacity (WBC) is commonly measured with a centrifugation method in which a sample is hydrated in excess water and the pellet weight after centrifugation defines the WBC. When a dispersion is being analyzed, here containing whey protein microparticles (MPs), the pellet consists of swollen particles and water between the particles. These two water domains in MP pellets were distinguished using time domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD NMR). This distinction showed that an increase in WBC from 2 to 5.5 g water/g dry matter was mainly due to an increase in water between the MPs. Besides, it was found that TD NMR-measurements could be used to provide accurate values of the amount of water in both water domains in MP pellets. This makes TD NMR therefore a more accurate method to determine the WBC of the whole pellet than weighing the pellet after centrifugation.</p

Unravelling of the water-binding capacity of cold-gelated whey protein microparticles

Whey protein microparticles (CG MPs) were made with a cold gelation method. Without shearing or mixing during gelation spherical CG MPs were formed, while shearing or mixing resulted in smaller irregularly shaped CG MPs. The water-binding capacity of pellets (WBC-P) that were obtained after centrifuging CG MP dispersions was remarkably large (11–18 g water/g dry matter), though this value decreased at larger centrifugation speeds. Microscopy images hinted at the presence of two water domains in the CG MP pellets: water within and between the CG MPs. The images also imply that the amount of water within the CG MPs was determined by the centrifugation speed. The amount of water between CG MPs seemed to be defined by the amount of particle-particle interactions that were present, as suggested by the effects of the particles' size and the inhibition of the disulphide bridge formation on the WBC-P. Although microscopy images showed two water domains, only one main peak was found with time domain nuclear magnetic resonance. This was explained by water diffusion from one water domain to the other within the measuring time. This fast diffusion implies that the CG MPs had a relatively open structure. Overall, it was concluded that water-binding by CG MPs was affected by various factors and that a good understanding of the water-binding requires the use of a range of measurements.</p

A combined rheology and time domain NMR approach for determining water distributions in protein blends

We present a combined time domain NMR and rheology approach to quantify the water distribution in a phase separated protein blend. The approach forms the basis for a new tool to assess the microstructural properties of phase separated biopolymer blends, making it highly relevant for many food and non-food related applications. First, we determine the relaxation rate of absorbed water, and the viscoelastic properties of the separated phases as function of the water content. Next, the same properties are measured for the protein blends. Finally, predictions for water distribution obtained from rheological experiments are made via the polymer blending law, and compared to a more direct assessment of the water distribution with time-domain NMR relaxometry (TD-NMR). In this study, the protein blend consists of soy protein isolate (SPI) and vital wheat gluten (WG). We demonstrate that predictions for water distribution are similar for both TD-NMR and rheological measurements. It turns out that water does not distribute homogenously over the phases. Independent of the SPI and WG ratio, more water is absorbed by the SPI phase relative to the WG phase, which largely determines the resulting rheological properties of the blends

Lifestyle Triple P: a parenting intervention for childhood obesity

Background: Reversing the obesity epidemic requires the development and evaluation of childhood obesity intervention programs. Lifestyle Triple P is a parent-focused group program that addresses three topics: nutrition, physical activity, and positive parenting. Australian research has established the efficacy of Lifestyle Triple P, which aims to prevent excessive weight gain in overweight and obese children. The aim of the current randomized controlled trial is to assess the effectiveness of the Lifestyle Triple P intervention when applied to Dutch parents of overweight and obese children aged 4-8 years. This effectiveness study is called GO4fit